A MOBILE DEVICE FOR MEASURING CARBON DIOXIDE EMISSIONS FROM THE SOIL

Abstract

Soils are the main terrestrial reservoir of organic carbon (CO). The release of carbon dioxide (CO2 ) through soil respiration, mainly due to the decomposition of organic matter in the soil, is the second largest component of the global carbon cycle and may play an important role in climate change. Depending on agricultural soil management practices, soils can be important sources or sinks of atmospheric carbon, with corresponding impacts and consequences on a global scale. It has been established that the release of carbon dioxide (CO2 ) during soil respiration, processes associated with the vital activity of biological organisms in soils, is the second largest component of the global carbon cycle. Depending on the tillage technologies used in agricultural production, soils can be important sources or sinks of atmospheric carbon, which can be a tool for correcting emissions from the soil. For example, Mini-Till technology, which breaks up the remains and cultivates them to a minimum depth, has a negative impact on the level of CO2 emissions into the environment. No-till technologies work less with plant residues and therefore emit less CO2 into the environment. The exchange of CO2 between arable soils and the atmosphere is only one aspect of the complexity of the carbon budget of the agroecosystem. However, accurate measurements of CO2 emissions are needed to assess whether one crop management method is better than another in reducing CO2 emissions from the soil. The static camera method is used to evaluate the exchange, which will be aimed at researching CO2 flows from cultivated soil in an area of intensive agriculture, for example, in the South of Ukraine. Most scientists use the conventional unit to measure CO2 emissions as ppm/min Measurements of CO2 fluxes in the soil will be carried out in one of the sunflower fields managed using different tillage methods and presented to obtain parameters for modeling the exchange of CO2 between the soil and the atmosphere. The developed device has a wide application functionality. It can be used as for small studies within a specific farm. It is also used to participate in Bayer's global Carbon Farming program, which includes the Carbon Farming Laboratory, Digital Farming and the Decarbonization Center. In modern conditions of war, ecological indicators in Ukraine have critically low values, and reducing the pressure of each parameter on the environment will affect it - the task of every scientist. These studies were carried out jointly with the Lozova Machinery company (manufacturer of agricultural machinery).